MY 9am online guitar student has moved to Thursday this week so I get some admin and stuff done before the next one. I used to try and schedule all my online and in-person guitar lessons to a Monday and Tuesday but now they‘ve all shifted around and they’re scattered through the week!
Once I’m clear I get the smoker on for tonight’s pork belly and Catriona drops the kids off – they’re staying with us this afternoon and tonight/tomorrow.
In the studio I do some rehearsing and work on a new song then I do some prep for tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook. I also need to start thinking about next Sunday’s radio show ‘cos we have a busy few days and weekend coming up.
I go for a wee walk and record some video to promote tonight’s livestream then back home in tiem to go live. Not sure what happens but Facebook stops the stream halfway through and won’t let me back on. Mmm….
Then when I check the temperature in the pit for the pork belly I get no reading. I then I get back to the house the vent fan and transmitter have vanished….and I find them by the fence a few feet away. Can only think a rabbit or something has got too close, caught the probe cable and yanked the whole lot out!
AFTER breakfast I hit the office – I wanna design something for a special gift and have an idea what I want, but not sure how I'm gonna do it!
There's some trial and error and finally I get the result I'm looking for then hit the studio. As well as some final prep for tonight's Dave Arcari's Deep Blues on Rock.Scot I need to make up some kind of set list for the garden gig on Saturday (15 August).
Next job is prepare some pork belly. Two slabs. One for the smoker tomorrow (Monday) and the other wrapped in tinfoil and put in the oven for two hours – it stays wrapped and goes straight in the fridge for making bao buns for lunch later int he week.
Back in the studio I run through the set I made up earlier and also mess with some old songs that I haven't played in a long – a very long – time. I also run through some new stuff that I'll maybe play next Saturday if I'm brave enough.
Margaret's back on her 'couch to 5k' so I take a walk upon the woods and accompany her...then it's radio show time.
The radio show finishes at 9pm so I rush back to the house to get online for Bill and Dorothy's livestream and watch the first part while making dinner – linquine con nduja with cherry tomatoes – then relax and enjoy the rest of the livestream.
Zila and Betsy take a wander to the bay after lunch
STRAIGHT into the studio to prep for tomorrow’s radio show – some of my cousins are coming for lunch and I wanna get as much down as possible before they get here.
Margaret had invited Matty to come too and he arrives late morning and disappears straight into the shower…when I get back to the house he’s doing some ironing and my cousins are meant to be arriving. Ginny has called tho’ – they have a sale tree and need to wait for the rental company to send a repair truck. I go to Milngavie and collect Zila and Betsy – Fred stays with Ginny with the car.
When we get back we go to the local open where Margaret booked a table – she got the time changed to allow for the delay – and now he time we’re ready to order Fred and Ginny have arrived, so all works out grand.
After lunch i take Betsy and Zila to the bay then we wander back to the house and join everyone for coffee and blueberry cake that Margaret made this morning.
Everyone heads off just after 6pm – they’re back for next week’s garden concert – and I go to the studio to finish the radio show prep to try and free up some time for tomorrow.
AFTER breakfast I clear up and tackle a few wee jobs that have been waiting to be done including replacement the propellers on the wee drone. A fiddly but necessary job after last weekend’s ‘flyaway’ and crash.
I call the chemist pub the village to see if the repeat prescription I asked the doc for last week is ready. Usually just a day or two and then a text to say the prescription is ready for collection…turns out it is test but they have a glitch in the messaging system. I’ll collect later.
Next job is to get the hydro society news release out to the relevant local and regional media then I go through some more music submissions for Sunday’s radio show. I really like doing the radio show but seriously underestimated how much turn it would take.
Smashburgers on the menu for tonight’s dinner so I make some dough for rolls – a double whammy as it means I don’t have to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow (Saturday) to make them.
Mid-afternoon I get the bus to the village, pick up my prescription and walk back home though a rainstorm. I’ve dried out by the time I get home and go back to the studio…
MARGARET’s away early – she’s off to Edinburgh with Catriona and the kids to visit Dynamic Earth. I’d have liked to go too but have too much needing done here.
The rain has stopped and last night’s winds died down so I take the chance to get some weedkiller down. Then i cut the grass, do some strimming and try up the outside space a little.
After putting some chicken in a lemongrass marinade I hit the studio and spend some time going through music submissions for Sunday’s radio show then start meddling with the new song that’s gone from being an idea, to a production and now back to a stripped back acoustic effort.
I edit a video reel for the Gullane show that I’ll post tomorrow (Friday) and then write up a news release for the community hydro society awards to go out to the media tomorrow along with one of the photos I took the other night.
I’m back I’ve he start getting the lemongrass chicken going when Betty arrives and we have a nice chilled evening before I walk her back along the road.
STRAIGHT into the studio today – I’m kinda stumped as to why this new song is sounding ‘weird’. Beginning to think it’s down to over-production and start to work on a straight, raw acoustic version. I also suspect that my demo recording attesting guitar and vocals has lost any synergy between the two.
After the garden gig coming up a week on Saturday (15 August) my next show is on 29 August at Gullane Village Hall for Vintage, Rare & Retro Guitars so I find some town building a website landing page and spreading the word via my email list and socials.
Margaret calls me to tell me that the Scottish Government has sanctioned the community asset transfer request for the car park one he villager. A significant step forward in the tedious ongoing battle with the council. It’s heart the start of a one phase but a great victory for Margaret and her community trust colleagues.
I prepped some ‘quick’ pizza dough earlier and get the pizza oven fired up. I’m just about to go out and start cooking when Sandy drops by – he’s a trustee on the community trust and keen to discuss plans in the light of the positive news about the car park.
We all eat pizza and bleeder over a few drinks. Sometimes these impromptu nights are the best.
Rob and Ellen drop by for lunch on the last day of their holiday in Scotland
MY EARLY morning Wednesday online guitar student has moved to a Tuesday…today’s the first session of the new schedule and I’m one the studio early to make sure I’m ready.
Our pals from Helmond – Rob and Ellen – are coming for lunch. Margaret made soup and stuff and I get a sourdough loaf in the oven then back to the studio ‘til they arrive.
We have a grand few hours catching up and the rain goes off long enough for me to take them out a wee walk.
After our friends have left I hit the studio to start some promo for the Gullane show for Vintage, Rare & Retro Guitars at the end of August then my evening guitar student arrives.
I’M BUSY with emails and my so pals when Margaret asks if I have an early guitar lesson. I respond saying “not ‘til 11am”….then 15 minutes later realise I did have an early lesson that had somehow not made it into the diary!
I message my student, anpologise and we re-schedule for 11.45am. My bad.
Once the day’s admin and online lessons are done I post the playlist from last night’s Dave Arcari’s Deep Blues and then upload the show to my Mixcloud where it’s available with my past shows.
After lunch I do some prep for tonight’s WIldcats’ livestream on Facebook then pack down camera stuff and go and take some pix of this year’s local hydro society grant awardees at the village church. Margaret goes off to get some shopping and I walk back home.
Next job it to get ‘gig in the garden’ cups and tumblers on pre-order…and let everyone that’s booked their space at the event know they’re available. I need all the pre-orders by the end of the week so I can order the blanks and get them made ready for the event.
After some final prep I go live on time and the livestream goes pretty much to plan 🙂
WE HAVE breakfast and chat for a while then Alastair and Karen pack their stuff and hit the road.
It’s been windy the last week or so and prevented me from taking the wee DJI Neo drone to get some video of progress at the affordable housing site in the village. My ‘windy’ app forecast a calm day today and for once it accurate so I get along the road and grab some footage.
Once I have all the main video I bring the drone back, change the battery and launch to get a bird’s eye view of the whole site….but just a couple of seconds after take off the drone decides to take a fuck off pill and races off in the opposite direction, out of site and I hear a distant crash 🙁
Luckily there’s enough juice in the battery to use the ‘find my drone’ feature and it’s end reachable place beside the road. A quick inspection shows two blades missing form one of the props – which is a bit weird as the prop stays is undamaged. I find myself wondering if the prop broke in the air and that’s what caused the ‘flywaway’.
Back home I get into the studio to prep for tonight’s radio show – need to check out some more new releases, decide what’s gonna be played on the show and plan what I’m gonna talk about.
One everything is sorted and ready I go out for a quick paddle and film some promo for both tonight’s Dave Arcari’s Deep Blues on rock.scot and tomorrow (Monday) night’s Wildcats’ livestream.
I get everything finished, radio show in the bag then we wander along to Betty’s for dinner with her, Seonaidh and Michelle.
UP BEFORE 6am to get the dough made for the weekend’s rolls then back to bed while it proves and rests.
After breakfast – with fresh rolls – I trim up some chicken thighs and prep the marinade for tonight’s lemongrass chicken. Alastair and Karen are bumping for the night. Once the chicken’s down I make some nuoc cham sauce to go with it then make smash burger pucks out a pack of mince that’s corned got a few days before its sell by date and won’t be used in time…the smash burger pucks go in the freezer.
Finally I get into the studio to prep for tomorrow night’s (Sunday) radio show then a wee walk out the lochside before our pals arrive.
